Every year chapters embark on various projects in support of our Society’s mission: encouraging interest in literature and the English language in surrounding communities; promoting all aspects of the discipline of English, including literature, language, and writing; and fostering literacy. Did you know that your chapter could be eligible to receive funding from Sigma Tau Delta to support you in your ventures? Every year Sigma Tau Delta awards a limited number of Chapter Service Project Grants, for no more than $500 each, to support local chapter activities.
Take a look at the 2023-2024 Sigma Tau Delta Chapter Service Project Grant recipients’ accounts of their experiences to see what opportunities may be available for you.
Celebrating the Gothic: How a Chapter Service Project Grant Cultivated a Book Club
Gwen Niekamp
Chapter Service Project Grant Recipient, 2024
Rho Epsilon Chapter
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
The Rho Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta hosted a weekly book club that inspired a Gothic Literature Workshop, offering graduate students the opportunity to host table conversations about the intersection of Gothic literature and their individual areas of study.
Little Libraries, Big Dreams with a Chapter Service Project Grant
Joshua Thompson
Chapter Service Project Grant Recipient, 2024
Alpha Psi Delta Chapter, Secretary
Langston University, Langston, OK
The Alpha Psi Delta Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta used the Chapter Service Project Grant to stock their Lion’s Literature English library with books on Black identity, gender expression, and matters related to racial barriers and struggle, subjects at the core of research conducted by a majority of Langston students.
Project Grant: Collaborating with Imagination to Support Literacy in Cuyahoga County
Trinity Bernard
Chapter Service Project Grant Recipient, 2024
Epsilon Psi Chapter, Vice President
Ursuline College, Pepper Pike, OH
The Epsilon Psi Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta partnered with their local chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to paint and decoupage planters to be displayed across Cuyahoga County to inform parents and families about the Imagination Library and encourage sign-up and early literacy.
Chapter Service Project Grants
Application Window: October 21 – November 11, 2024, 4:00 p.m. CT
Sigma Tau Delta’s Chapter Service Project Grants are designed to encourage local chapters to be innovative in developing projects that further the vision and goals of the Society. The Society will award a limited number of grants, for no more than $500 each, to support local chapter activities. Funds may be requested for separate projects or for parts of larger projects, and chapters should explore ways to use Service Project Grants in combination with funds secured from other sources. Funds may be requested for ongoing projects, but there is no guarantee that projects funded during one grant period will receive funding in future grant periods.
Eligible Projects
Appropriate projects include, but are not limited to, the following:
- service project connected to the discipline (for example, literacy projects connected with local partner schools or social services)
- projects intended to broaden appreciation for language and literature (for example, audio/video projects related to literature)
- research project costs (for example, photocopying, postage, print materials, or travel); research projects must involve multiple chapter members and demonstrate their impact on the larger community
- projects intended to increase chapter membership or visibility
- joint projects secured with another society partner. (Chapter members or Advisors should check the chapter directories of Sigma Tau Delta, Sigma Kappa Delta, and NEHS to determine which chapters exist in the immediate geographic region. Identify potential partners and contact the Chapter Advisors to propose a joint project.)
Criteria for Selection
In making awards, the Service Committee will consider criteria such as the following:
- The significance and contribution of the project to the community and the alignment of the project with the vision and the goals of the Society
- The proposal’s concept, definition, organization
- Careful preparation of an appropriate budget
- Letter of endorsement from the Chapter Advisor
Book Club Kits/Book Club Service Award
Sigma Tau Delta is now creating Book Club Kits! These kits are designed to bring chapters closer together by creating activities for them to participate in together. They also provide opportunities for chapters to feel more connected to the international Society through the feeling of unity reading the same book can provide. Book Club Kits also can provide excellent inspiration for a Chapter Service Project Grant.
Contents
- Themes: Every kit contains four pages that focus on one theme or element each. Chapters can discuss all four or pick which ones they would like to use.
- Engagement Prompts: Each of these theme sheets includes discussion questions, interactive activities, and sparks to inspire service-related conversations.
- Community Resources: At the back of the kit, there is a list of community resources for chapters interested in pursuing service projects related to the collection’s themes.
Service Projects
We encourage chapters to consider service projects related to book club conversations. Each kit will provide valuable resources for how to better understand many of the issues addressed in contemporary literature. Chapter members should consider the many ways that these resources may inspire individual or chapter actions. Remember: no project and no action is too small! Volunteering time and skills is also a valuable resource. Hosting open discussions about issues raised in Book Club is a way of serving individuals, groups, and communities. Service through words is an important part of raising awareness.
Book Club Service Award
Any chapter that completes a service project is eligible for a Book Club Service Award of $200. These awards will be distributed after service projects have been completed by chapters. Chapters can be funded for one project within the award period.
Little Free Library
Is your chapter searching for the perfect project to undertake for a Chapter Service Project Grant? Consider establishing your very own Sigma Tau Delta-sponsored Little Free Library.
English Honor Societies is partnering with Little Free Library to create a global network of book-sharing libraries! Sigma Tau Delta and NEHS have already supported numerous chapter-sponsored Little Free Libraries through the societies’ respective Chapter Service Project Grants, and now we’re excited to expand this initiative, inviting even more chapters and communities to join the movement.
Building and maintaining a Little Free Library does more than just promote literacy and a love of reading among English Honor Societies student members and their communities. It fosters community connections, enhances access to books, encourages sustainability and book reuse, inspires generosity, and offers a platform for cultural exchange.
Imagine a chapter-sponsored Little Free Library in every community, making books available to anyone who wants to read them! English Honor Societies and Little Free Library share a vision where everyone is empowered by the opportunity to discover a personally meaningful book, unrestricted by time, space, or privilege. We hope you’re as excited about this vision as we are!
English Honor Societies is thrilled to collaborate with Little Free Library, a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, MN. Their mission is to build community, inspire readers, and expand book access for all through a worldwide network of volunteer-led Little Free Library book-exchange boxes. We are eager to help them achieve this incredible mission!
Join us in celebrating literacy by sponsoring a Little Free Library in your community. Together, let’s ignite a passion for reading and make a lasting impact!
More Chapter Service Project Grant Reports
Celebrating the Gothic: How a Chapter Service Project Grant Cultivated a Book Club
Little Libraries, Big Dreams with a Chapter Service Project Grant
Project Grant: Collaborating with Imagination to Support Literacy in Cuyahoga County
Book Banning and Minority Communities
Service Project Grant: Little Free Library
Launching Lit Week: Celebrating Literature with a Project Grant
Honoring Writing and the Creative Arts with a Project Grant
Ravens and RiverMead Read!
When Words Come to Life
Leo’s Little Free Library
Online Tutoring Partnership
Restocking the Military Resource Center’s Lending Library
Writing Contest for Secondary Schools
Poetry Fest
AuthorShip! Writing Contest
Little Free Library
Common Reader Community Discussion
English Careers Event
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